The Sections of Dharma

The title of the sutra, The Sections of Dharma (Skt. Dharmaskandha; Tib. ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཕུང་པོ།, Wyl. chos kyi phung po) refers to the sections of teachings given by the Buddha, which are traditionally said to number 84,000. The sutra begins with an inquiry by Shariputra about the nature and number of the sections of the Dharma, to which the Buddha answers with a teaching on the absence of birth with regard to phenomena—a teaching that serves as an antidote to the poison of desire. The beginning of the sutra thus situates the text explicitly in a Mahayana context, introducing as it does the notion that phenomena neither arise nor cease. Indeed, in the manner of the teachings of the second turning, the text deconstructs the reality and identity of objects of desire, thereby demonstrating that desires are mere fantasies based on imaginary objects and are not to be indulged in by the wise.

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The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Kangyur, Toh 245

• English translation: The Sections of Dharma